Coal-loading machine



June 3, 1 924.

N. BARGER ET AL C OAL LOADING MACHINE Filed March 17.

1921 2 sfieens-s'neem 1 June 3, 1924.,

' 1,496,513. N. BARGER ET AL COAL LOADING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 17.

Ne w tan .5. Bafger. Jaznea If. For-UL.

Fatented June 3, 1924.

ED v If T E S NEWTON L. BARGER AND JAMES roan, or BRAEHOLM, WEST VIRGINIA.

COAL-LOADING MACHINE.

Application filed March 17, 1921, Serial No, 453,005

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, NEWTON L. Bnnenn and JAMES H. FORD, citizens of the United States, residing at Braeholm,'in the county of Logan, State of West Virginia, have in Vented certain new and useful Improvements in Coal-Loading Machines; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art 7 to which it appertains to make and use the same. I

The ob ect of the invent on 1s to provide simple and efficient means of a character adapted to be readily handled or directed and positioned in a mine for loading coal cars from the pile ofloose material on the mine fioor after a heading has been loosened and displaced by blasting or through the operation of cutting or picking machines, to avoid the inconvenience, loss of time and labor incident to the shoveling or the manual lifting of the lumps of coal from the pile to the cars; and'more particularly to provide an apparatus for the purpose indicated which will be essentially self-feeding or supplying to act as a feeder for a conveyer by which the material may be conducted to a conveniently located car or like receptacle, to the end that the manual elfort incident to car filling may be minimized if not eliminated; and more especially to provide'a conveyer feeding shoe adapted to be positioned against or in contact with the side of a pile of loose material just as it falls from the blastedheader or wall of the mine lead or room, to draw the material away from the pile and deposit it upon the conveyor imder such conditions as to avoid the unnecessary breaking or powdering of the coal even when the latter is of the bituminous variety, so as to avoid the unnecessar 7 reduction of the commercial value of the product; and with these general objects in view the invention consists in the construction, combin ation and relation of parts of which a preferred embodiment is shown in the accompanying drawing wherein:

Figure 1 is a side view of acoal mine car loading apparatus embodying the invention.

Figure 2 is a plan View, of the same.

Figure 3 is a front view of the machine.

Figure 4 is a detail sectional view of a portion of the upper or driving roller of theshoe on the plane indicated by the line 44 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a detail horizontal sectional view of the mounting of the forward or pick-up roller of the shoe on the plane indi= cated by'the line 55 of Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a detail Vertical section of the pick-up roller at the forward end of the shoe on the plane indicated by the line 6+6 of Figure 3.

Figure 7 is a detail side view partly in section of one of the tooth carrying links of the pick-up carrier.

Figure 8 is a detail in perspective of one of the tooth carrying links. 7

The apparatus consists essentially of a conveyer 10 preferably comprising relatively movable members 10 and 10 pivotally jointed at 11 to permit of angular adj ustment of the delivery member 10 upon an axis representedby the pivot 11 which con sists in the construction illustrated of a transverse shaft through which motion may be conveyed to a continuous belt or apron 12 which traverses the full length of the conveyer to discharge material conducted thereby into a delivery chute 13 for discharging to a mine car indicated fragmentarily at 14; with which conveyer is associated a feeding shoe 15 disposed at the receiving end of the conveyer, and preferably at one side of the latter, and serving as a means for picking up or Withdrawing the lumps or fragments of coal from the pile on the 'fioor of the mine to deposit it-upon the receiving end of the conveyer.

As shown, the apron or belt 12 of the conveyer, which may be provided with transverse slats or flights 16 intermediately traverses a drum 17 carried by the shaft 11 which receives motion from a motor 18 through a counter shaft 19 and a chain and sprocket gearing 20, a sprocket wheel 21 be ing fitted upon one end of the shaft 11. The remote ends of the conveyer apron trav erse rollers 22 and 23 at the free ends of the conveyer sections 10 and 10", while the delivery chute 13 is pivotally mounted as at 24: upon the angularly adjustable member 10 of the conveyer to adapt itself to the position and height of the car 14 relative to the delivery end of the conveyer which is positioned by means of a strut or brace 25 consisting of the telescoping members 26 and 27 i with a feed nut 28 engaging a threaded portion of the member 26 and having a hand wheel or grip 29 to facilitate the manual adjustment thereof. The remote extremities of the brace or strut are pivoted at 30 and 31 respectively to the movable member of the conveyer and the main frame 32 of the apparatus which main frame may be constructed to form a housing as indicated to enclose the motor 18 and thus rotect the operating mechanism from the ust and particles of coal which may be dropped from the conveyer.

- The feeding shoe is of general triangular shape, viewed in vertical longitudinal section or in end view as indicated in Figure 3 with its elevated inner delivery end overhanging the receiving end of the conveyer, and with its nose or receiving end reduced and located close to the plane of the floor or supporting surface so as to provide for forcing the same into close contact with the side of a pile of material to be transferred, and in such relation to the pile as to cause the material thereof to be readily drawn from the pile to an endless carrier 33 with which the shoe is equipped and which is provided with hook shaped teeth 34- having forwardly presented concave faces 35 adapted to pass under the lumps of coal in the pile and draw them from and upon the inwardly moving upper surface or run of the carrier for transfer thereby to the receiving end of the conveyer.

In the construction illustrated the carrier 33 at the upper inner end of the shoe, of which the upper surface is abruptly inclined to facilitate arrangement in close relation with the pile of material, traverses a roller 36, receiving motion through a sprocket chain 37 traversing sprocket wheels 38 and 39 from a counter shaft 40 which extends longitudinally of the frame of the conveyer and is driven by the motor '18 through the sprocket gearing 41, to the end that there is a timed relation between the operations of the shoe carrier and the conveyer belt or apron, so that the material may not be deposited by the feeding shoe upon the receiving end of the conveyermore rapidly than the same can be conducted by the conveyer to the car.-

At the pick-up or feed end of the shoe the carrier 33 extends around a pick-up roller 42 of which the shaft or spindle 43 is preferably mounted in adjustable bearing blocks 44 fitted in horizontal guides 45 and engaged by adjusting bolts 46 designed to maintain a proper tension of the carrier to insure an effective engagement of the teeth 34 with the loose material in the pile which is being attacked. The carrier preferably consists of a plurality of parallel chains 33 each comprising a series of links shown in detail in Figures 7 and 8 and particularly designated at 33*, and these links,

or as many of them as may be preferred carry the hook shaped teeth 34, constructed as above indicated and detachablyor replaceably Secured to the links by having threaded stems 34 engaged by nuts 34 or the equivalent thereof. These teeth are preferably interchangeable or replaceable to provide for renewal in the event of breakage or when dulled by contact with the coal to an extent sufiicient to interfere with the proper and effective engagement of the coal in the operation of drawing the lumps thereof from the pile to the upper inwardly moving surface of the carrier for transfer as above indicated to the feed end of the conveyer.

The elements of the shoe including the suitably braced frame 47 thereof and the carrier is such that the teeth 34 at the forward or nose end of the feeder, in passing around the pick-up roller 42 terminally sweep close to the surface of the mine floor and thence swing around under the lumps of coal adjacent to the nose end of the feeder to tilt or draw the lumps upon the carrier with the least possible jar or blow and hence with the minimum tendency to cause breakage or fracture of the lumps, to the end that the pulverizing or powdering of the material or the breakage thereof into small particles may be minimized to maintain the highest possible commercial standard of the product; and to the same end there is provided at the elevated discharge or delivery end of the feeder, an inwardly and downwardly inclined fender 48, consisting for example of a plurality of bars or strips of which the lower extremities overlap or over hang the lower portion of the conveyer belt or apron 12 for the purpose of conducting,

the lumps of coal from the feeder to the receiving end of the conveyer and to ease or modify its deposit thereupon to avoid objectionable breakage or pulverizing of the lumps. A guard 49 may be also arranged at the opposite side of thereceiving end of the conveyer to prevent the lumps from rolling beyond the zone of the conveyer belt or apron.

What is claimed is: a

1. A mine car loading apparatus having a conveyer mechanism provided with a feed ing shoe, of generally triangular form the reduced end adapted for disposition in contact with the side of a pile of loose material to be loaded. and having means for drawing the material from the pile and conducting it to the conveyor. said means including an endless carrier consisting of a plurality'of parallel tooth carrying chains of which certain of the links are provided with openings to receive therein the stems of the said teeth.

2. A minecar loading apparatus having a conveyer mechanism provided with a feeding shoe, of generally triangular form, the

l on

nose end of which is adapted for disposition in contact with the side of a pile of loose material to be loaded, and having means for drawing the material from the pile and conducting it to the conveyer, said means including an endless tooth carrying chain disposed intermediate the sides of said feeding shoe and transversing in a path parallel with the inclined side thereof, the upper faces of the inclined sides of the feeding shoe being in alignment with the tops of said teeth.

A mine car loading apparatus having a conveyer mechanism provided with a feeding shoe extending laterally therefrom and secured thereto, said feeding shoe being of triangular form and having its nose end adapted for disposition in contact with the side of a pile of loose material to be loaded, means for drawing the material from the pile and conducting it to the conveyer, said means including an endless carrier consisting of a plurality of parallel tooth carrying chains of which certain of the links are provided with vertical openings to receive therein the threaded stems of the said teeth, and means located within the nose end of the feeding shoe and extending exteriorly thereof, for adjusting the said carrier.

4. A mine car loading apparatus having a conveyer mechanism provided with a feeding shoe extending laterally therefrom and secured thereto, said feeding shoe being of generally triangular form and having its nose end adapted for disposition in contact with the side of a pile of loose material to be loaded, means for drawing the material from the pile and conducting it to the con veyer, said means including an endless carrier consisting of a plurality of parallel tooth carrying chains of which certain of the links are formed with aligned countersinks in their top and bottom faces, said countersinks being connected by a bore of smaller diameter, and the said teeth being provided with threaded stems, the lower portions of the teeth being receivable in the countersink in the top face, the threaded stem passing through the bore into the countersink in the bottom face, and a nut threaded upon the stem and seated within the bottom countersink.

5. A mine car loading apparatus having a conveyor mechanism pro-vided with a feeding shoe of generally triangular form, the reduced end adapted for disposition in contact with the side of a pile of loose material to be loaded, and having means for drawing the material from the pile and conducting it to the conveyor, said means including an endless carrier consisting of a plurality of parallel tooth carrying chains of which certain of the links are provided with countersunken openings to receive therein the stems and the lower portions of the said teeth,

In testimony whereof, we aflix our signatures, in the presence of two witnesses.

NEWTON L. BARGER. JAMES H. FORD. Witnesses:

P. J. RILEY,

HY ALLEBUT. 

